U.S. Supreme Court agrees to decide gun ownership case

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed
on Monday to decide whether a Florida man convicted on drug
charges and forced to give up his firearms under federal law
could sell the guns or transfer ownership to his wife or a
friend.

The court agreed to hear an appeal filed by Tony Henderson,
a former U.S. Border Patrol agent who was convicted of
distributing marijuana and other drug offenses in 2007 and
sentenced to six months in prison.

Upon his arrest, Henderson voluntarily gave the FBI his 19
firearms. As federal felons cannot possess firearms, Henderson
later sought either to sell the guns to an interested buyer or
to transfer ownership to his wife.

A federal judge refused his request, as did the
Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling
this past January.

The legal question is whether the federal prohibition on
felons possessing firearms terminates all ownership rights.
Lower courts are divided on the issue.

John Elwood, Henderson's attorney, said in court filings
that if the appeals court ruling against him were to be left
intact, it would allow the government to "effectively strip gun
owners of their entire ownership interest in significant, lawful
household assets following a conviction for an unrelated
offense."

U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, representing the
government, said in court papers there was no need for the
Supreme Court to hear the case, in part because Henderson could
have sold the guns prior to his conviction.

Furthermore, Henderson's proposals would have put the guns
in the hands of either his wife or a friend, which "created a
significant risk" that he would still retain access to them,
Verrilli wrote.

A ruling is due by the end of June. The case is Henderson v.
United States, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 13-1487.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)